asked the Minister for Justice to state the number of prosecutions and how many convictions during the last five years have been obtained for offences against the Moneylenders Acts, 1900 and 1911; and, further, to ask the Minister to state how many petitions in bankruptcy have been filed by moneylenders, and what percentage these constitute of the total number of cases in bankruptcy during the past three years.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Written Answers. - The Moneylenders Acts
I have caused inquiries to be made as to the number of prosecutions and convictions during the last five years for offences against the Moneylenders Acts, 1900 and 1911, and when replies have been received the Deputy will be furnished with the statistics he requires. As regards the latter part of the question, I have ascertained that during the past three years six petitions in bankruptcy were filed by moneylenders. As the total number of petitions was 204, the percentage of moneylenders seeking the protection of the Bankruptcy Court works out at less than 3 per cent.